Felidae dollshouse

Felidae

This is the first of my Corona Concepts Buttercup dollshouses. These are tab and slot die-cut dollshouse kits. They are in the American style - open at the back.

We bought the Buttercup houses at Mac's Model Railroading and Dolls Houses, 64A Sinclair Street, Helensburgh. They only cost about £17. Mum decided immediately that hers was to be a school, so I had to think of something else. She suggested a shop. When I put that idea together with my love of cats, I came up with a shop which sells anything related to cats - pictures, ornaments, jewellery, cushions, rugs, plates, mugs, etc. There used to be such a shop in Edinburgh - the Moggie Shop, but it no longer exists. When I was trying to think of a name for my shop I looked around my bookshelves and noticed "Felidae" by Akif Pirinçci.

I look everywhere for tiny cats to put in the shop - ornaments, beads, earrings, etc. I made some Wemyss ware cats which are in a display case in the window, and some "Methil Moggies" which are miniatures of ornaments made by a local company.

I modified the house by cutting a circular hole in the upper floor and adding a spiral staircase. This was made from dowel, triangles of wood, with kebab skewers, beads and cord forming the rail.

I keep the house in my kitchen, where it matches the colour scheme.

Methil Moggies
These were made from dark brown Fimo. When they had been baked they were painted using a sandy coloured stone-effect paint. The ears and feet were left unpainted. A small tag was made from brown paper, a paw-mark logo drawn on it, and tied to the cat's neck.

Wemyssware cats
Again these were modelled from Fimo. Bright yellow Fimo was used, and they were painted with black and white spots then varnished with a high gloss varnish.

Spiral staircase
Ten triangles were cut from thin wood and the corners rounded off. At the point a hole was drilled to allow a piece of dowelling to be inserted. At one of the other corners a hole was drilled for a cocktail stick. The staircase was assembled and glued together. At the top of eack cocktail stick a bead was glued and cord was glued to these beads as a rope.

Sale tags
Stars were cut out of fluorescent paper and marked "Sale" and "Half Price"

Keyrings/Earrings
These were made using shrink plastic. The shape of a cat about 1cm tall was drawn using black permanent pen. The plastic was cut in an oval around this. After a short burst in the oven it reduced to half its size. For the keyrings, about 10 of these were stuck to a rectangle of cork, with jump rings stuck above eack one as the keyring findings. For the earrings, they were stuck on another rectangle of cork, arranged in pairs.

Shopping bags
These were made from brown paper with cream thread as handles. A sequin in the shape of a black cat was stuck on.

	Methil Moggies These were made from dark brown Fimo. When they had been baked they were painted using a sandy coloured stone-effect paint. The ears and feet were left unpainted. A small tag was made from brown paper, a paw-mark logo drawn on it, and tied to the cat's neck.
	Wemyssware cats Again these were modelled from Fimo. Bright yellow Fimo was used, and they were painted with black and white spots then varnished with a high gloss varnish.
	Spiral staircase Ten triangles were cut from thin wood and the corners rounded off. At the point a hole was drilled to allow a piece of dowelling to be inserted. At one of the other corners a hole was drilled for a cocktail stick. The staircase was assembled and glued together. At the top of eack cocktail stick a bead was glued and cord was glued to these beads as a rope.
	Sale tags Stars were cut out of fluorescent paper and marked "Sale" and "Half Price"
	Keyrings/Earrings These were made using shrink plastic. The shape of a cat about 1cm tall was drawn using black permanent pen. The plastic was cut in an oval around this. After a short burst in the oven it reduced to half its size. For the keyrings, about 10 of these were stuck to a rectangle of cork, with jump rings stuck above eack one as the keyring findings. For the earrings, they were stuck on another rectangle of cork, arranged in pairs. Shopping bags These were made from brown paper with cream thread as handles. A sequin in the shape of a black cat was stuck on.